Lawsuit Says NYPD Helped Cover Up Robert Durst’s Role In His Wife’s Murder

Robert Durst, the subject of the controversial HBO docu-series "The Jinx," is once again the subject of scrutiny as new reports emerge about the corrupt collusion between the NYPD and the wealthy real estate scion. Court documents now show that the police may have been involved in covering up certain facts in the murder of Durst's first wife.

"The Jinx"aired in 2015 and explored the vast net of conspiracies that Durst may have been involved in, ultimately leading to the capture of a confession from Durst on a hot mic. Now, two years later, a law firm hired by the family of the late Kathie Durst is accusing the NYPD and an ex-cop of covering up Robert's role in Kathie's death.

Kathie had gone missing in 1982 and was declared dead a year later. The suit, filed on Thursday by a firm representing Kathie's kin, says that former officer Edward Wright had hid evidence in order to protect the obviously abusive Durst, who police “knew or should have known” had repeatedly lied about “his involvement in Kathie’s disappearance and murder.” Wright was motivated by payments from Robert's affluent father, Seymour Durst, who urged them to conduct what is being described as a "shadow investigation," serving the purpose of keeping the Durst family aware of the police's progress.

Durst “had real time access to the investigation of him by the police, the NYPD cannot now claim that they are unable to provide… access to the NYPD’s file when the NYPD has already given it to, at a minimum, people working on behalf of Durst," reads court documents.

By 1983, police had already dismissed Durst as a suspect in the crime.

The suit is looking to force the hand of the NYPD into giving up all documentation on the still-unsolved death of Kathie. The firm filing the suit claims that the NYPD have been stonewalling the collection of these documents for 18 months.

“The NYPD knows that once its cover-up is fully and properly exposed, the public will likely conclude that the NYPD intentionally concealed evidence to shield Durst from being prosecuted in connection with the disappearance and/or death of Kathie,” court papers say.

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The firm is also suing the Durst family for $100 million pertaining to his obstruction of Kathie's prompt burial.

Because Durst was essentially exonerated for Kathie's murder, he was able to continue killing: He would go on to slay a neighbor (he claimed in self-defense) and a potential witness in his wife's case.

Those “violent and horrific crimes…would likely never have occurred had the NYPD conducted an honest, competent and timely investigation in connection with Kathie’s disappearance and murder,” court papers say.

Durst is currently awaiting trial for the 2000 murder of Susan Berman. He has gone on to claim that has accidental confession caught in "The Jinx"was given under the heavy influence of drugs. He continues to deny any involvement in Kathie's disappearance.